December 23, 2012 In Book News & Events By Rachel Gold

My Next Big Thing

If you’ve been following the “Next Big Thing” blog hop going around author websites, you may have seen my post on the Being Emily site announcing that the sequel is in progress. There’s more exciting news. I recently signed the contract for another book to come out next year – a romantic paranormal novel. The details about the book are below but I also want to add that this book and any others in its series will be out under my pen name “Rachel Calish.” As you can see, I’m not using the pen name to cover my identity, rather it’s to distinguish the two kinds of books that I write. Young adult is a very different genre than romantic paranormal, so I wanted to let readers decide for themselves if they want to read in both genres rather than assuming that someone who loved Being Emily will automatically want to read my paranormal novels. What is the working title of your next book? The Demon Abraxas What genre does your book fall under? Romantic paranormal/urban fantasy What is the synopsis or blurb of your book? Having escaped the poverty and violence of her childhood, Ana thought she didn’t have room for any more inner demons until she met one who knew more about being human than she did. Ana Koury knows there’s more to life

June 26, 2012 In Book News & Events By Rachel Gold

My book is available

My novel became widely available this week! Now I get to put into practice all that book marketing stuff I've been reading the last few years. If you haven't seen it yet, here's the basic info about my novel and where to find it: Being Emily is first young adult novel to tell the story of transsexual girl from her perspective. It’s a story for anyone who has ever felt that their inside and outside don’t match and no one else will understand. You can read an excerpt on the publisher’s site http://blog.bellabooks.com/2012/06/being-emily-by-rachel-gold-now.html. And you can buy the book there or on Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Being-Emily-Rachel-Gold/dp/1594932832 or on Barnes & Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/being-emily-rachel-gold/1104889199. For an eBook you can use in most eReaders, click here: http://www.bellabooks.com/9781594932830e-prod.html.

January 2, 2012 In Uncategorized By Rachel Gold

The Periodic Table Of SEO Ranking Factors

Search engine optimization — SEO — may seem like alchemy to the uninitiated. But there is a science to it. Search engines reward pages with the right combination of ranking factors, or “signals.” SEO is about ensuring your content generates the right type of signals. Our chart below summarizes the major factors to focus on for search engine ranking success. The Search Engine Land Guide To SEO explains factors in more depth, with tips and a tutorial on implementing them. Read on! via searchengineland.com This is one of the absolutely most helpful guides I've seen about SEO. Not only does it remind me of what I need to pay attention to, but it's also a handy way to explain to clients the complexity of SEO. I encourage you to click the title above and visit the Search Engine Land website where you can download your own copy. 

November 23, 2011 In Flourishing in the Margins By Rachel Gold

Happy Thanksgaming!

From the same family that brought you the hit holiday National Day Off for Jews (celebrated Dec. 25), we present: Thanksgaming!  Celebrated annually on the same day as Thanksgiving, this holiday gives gamers everywhere a day to give thanks for our tremendous good fortune in the variety of great games available, the easy accessibility of the “flow” state to us, and the way games bring together diverse people over vast distances. There are two main ways to celebrate this holiday (though of course you’re invited to invent more): 1. Spend the day at home in comfy clothes, eating easy to prepare foods and playing your favorite games. Periodically log in to the social networks of your choice and express heart-felt thanks for these wonderful games and your brilliant achievements in them. Congratulate your friends on their Thanksgaming achievements. 2. Spend the day with family and friends and play games together. Give thanks for the way games bond people, build teamwork, and keep your crazy relatives from fighting (much). Isn’t it time for a holiday that unites gamers without requiring us to leave the comfort of our homes, dorms or apartments? Join us in celebrating Thanksgaming and consciously increasing the amount of happiness in the

August 12, 2011 In Uncategorized By Rachel Gold

Survey Shows Publishing Expanded Since 2008 – NYTimes.com

BookStats, a comprehensive survey conducted by two major trade groups that was released early Tuesday, revealed that in 2010 publishers generated net revenue of $27.9 billion, a 5.6 percent increase over 2008. Publishers sold 2.57 billion books in all formats in 2010, a 4.1 percent increase since 2008. via www.nytimes.com YA fiction is up 6.6% and adult fiction up 8.8%. I like those numbers! And that's post-Harry Potter. Speaking of which, seeing The Deathly Hallows parts 1 & 2 recently really demonstrated to me that ways in which novels can go so deeply into characters, moments and story arcs in a way you just can't get in a movie.

June 1, 2011 In Uncategorized By Rachel Gold

Reader Buying Habits

I'm in the process of merging my Novel Marketing Strategies blog into this one now that I've had an epiphany about how to marketing novels. (Yes, soon I'll post a longer article about that epiphany.) Here I'm bringing in some of my favorite reader data from that other blog: From a 47-page report of stats from Bowker Pubtrack, assembled by Sisters in Crime. (The report focuses on mystery novels, which may be why some of the numberd reasons above are missing for SFF.)  What influences book sales: Fantasy Part of a series: #1 reason Know/Like this author: #2 In-Store Display/On Shelf/Spinning Rack: #3 Friend/Relative Recommended: #4 Online – Book Review: #5 Online – Author’s Website: #6 Online – Retailer Recommended: #7 Book Club: #8 Best Seller List: #12 Book Review (Not Online): #25 What influences book sales: Science Fiction Know/Like this author: #1 reason Part of a series: #2 In-Store Display/On Shelf/Spinning Rack: #3 Book Club: #4 Friend/Relative Recommended: #5 Online – Author’s Website: #6 Online – Book Review: #7 Online – Retailer Recommended: #8 Best Seller List: #11 Book Review (Not Online): #15 In a study by Verso Advertising about book-buying behavior in 2010 (full study online at: www.versoadvertising.com/beasurvey/), the primary factors in a book purchase decision were: Author reputation 52% Personal recommendation 49% Price 45% Book review 37% Cover artwork/blurbs 22% Advertising (including online) 14%  

January 23, 2010 In Uncategorized By Rachel Gold

A Writer’s Time – Ken Atchity

I've read many books about how to write and this remains one of my favorites. He covers not only time management tactics, but also creativity management, which is crucial. I recently found this page of notes that I wrote to myself as a quick review of my favorite points of the book. I'm presenting it here to give you an idea of the scope, but to really dig into his strategies for managing yourself as a write, I recommend you read the whole book. (He has a good style, you'll enjoy it!) A Writer's Time: Making the Time to Write Also I didn't make it all the way through the book with my transcription of my notes, so there's a lot more content that's not covered here: "During the next year or the next few years, plan to lay the foundation for your writing career. Immerse yourself in the planning process and build the foundation, and take your satisfaction from the doing of it, not from the having done it. The poet, e.e. cummings reminds us, cares not for things made but only for the making. Your career, you'll discover, will take the shape of your foundation." (p. xv) Ray Bradbury says: "Start writing more, it'll get rid of all those moods you're having." (p.1) "Writing is a craft.